Moonlit Waltz
by awiette
Summary: Wynne's former apprentice joins the warden to help him defeat the blight. What does the future hold for her? Will she finally find her happiness or only more misery awaits her? OC as a companion. Will contain SPOILERS.
1. Chapter 1

She was born in Orlais, to a family of a merchant and a bard. Her father was a nice man, known well for his big heart. He would never turn his back to someone in need, which was why, and how, her mother met him. Her mother was an adventurous woman in her youth, which only her father managed to change. Most of people used to swear the bard had a voice that could heal any kind of wound, which her daughter inherited as well.

They called her Luna. Perhaps because that night the moon was the biggest her parents had ever seen. Or perhaps because her skin was pale, which at night seemed shining faintly.

She was only a few years old when her family had to move to a new place. She was never told why exactly – all she knew was that it had to do with her mother's occupation. They fled to a region called Ferelden and managed to hide themselves from their pursuers. Her family rebuilt their lives rather quickly, except that her mother decided to completely stop her adventures as a bard. In fact, she did not seem too sad about that. After all, family was more important.

Everything seemed to be alright until one day Luna started showing signs of magic. Her parents did not wish to lose their only child. So they fled again.

'Lady Luck' had turned away from her family completely, however. Soon the Chevaliers from Orlais caught up with them. She still used to naively think that perhaps those Chevaliers were kind, righteous and good-hearted knights. She soon learnt that was not the truth. The men killed her father when he was trying to protect her and her mother. Then they decided to have their fun with her mother. They did unspeakable things to her, right in front of Luna, yet the girl was so scared she could do nothing. As if they had not had enough, one of them started to touch her as well. That managed to finally trigger her self-defence. She quickly shoved some kind of spell – which actually quite hurt the man – and while he was confused, quickly ran away.

She ran and ran, until she was sure not a single soul was following her. She ended up in a forest next to a small village, which was the only thing that saved her from dying of starvation. Only several days later, some templars arrived to take her to the Circle. The girl was amazingly suspicious of them after the incident with her family. However, a sister from the village's Chantry calmed her down. She accompanied Luna and her escorts to the Circle tower. If it was not for that, the mage would have been killed sooner or later.

And so her life in the circle began.

Luna became an apprentice to an enchanter named Wynne. The woman noticed she was quite talented, though always avoiding people, especially of the male gender. She did not push her though, presumably due to her previous experience with apprentices. With time the enchanter became like a mother to her.

Luna quickly learnt spells, with an affinity for healing. She never seemed keen on making any friends though. Years later she managed to befriend someone, a templar boy of all things. His name was Cullen. He seemed different from others, quite shy and nervous around her at first, but after a while they became close friends.

The girl had her harrowing at a slightly younger age than most, perhaps due to her talent, and passed it easily (almost as easily as Irving's favourite later did). Not long after that, Wynne left for Ostagar. Luna did not want her to go. What if she died? Or worse, what if she became one of those filthy darkspawn she had learnt about? But, she could do nothing. When Wynne and the other mages left, the atmosphere in the tower became gloomier and heavier. Rumours about someone practicing blood magic began to spread. Soon Irving's favourite, who had just passed his harrowing, was made tranquil for assisting a blood mage with destroying his phylactery and escaping. It was a shame, she thought back then. Cullen had told her it was the quickest and cleanest harrowing ever. Templars became even worse than before as well, watching every single move all the time, driving most of the mages crazy. Luna was not worried though, at least not most of the time. Cullen somehow managed to get the daytime shifts, so if some other templar wanted to spy on her, she would most likely be asleep.

A month later, the mages who had traveled to Ostagar came back. The circle was about to take Loghain's side, until they discovered his betrayal. One of the senior enchanters, Uldred, did not cope well with that. He attacked the circle with blood mages who supported him.

This is where the story begins.

* * *

><p>Luna ran as fast as she could to the templars quarters despite all the risk. Cullen had to be in there somewhere, and she had to make sure he was alright. She thought she was lucky to not meet many enemies on the way. However, she was wrong. As she was advancing through the quarters, she ran into a swarm of abominations. The mage quickly jumped into the nearest room and sealed the door with her magic. She could hear the blasted things trying to break through, but thanks to Wynne's teaching, the seal was far too strong for them.<p>

She sat there for Maker knows how long, while being gnawed at by worry and anger with herself. She was angry for being too weak to fight those things. Angry for being scared. What if Cullen dies just because she could not get out of that blasted room?

Suddenly she heard the sound of battle. Did templars return? She was sure they all had gone down, and most likely were getting ready to destroy the whole tower. After the sounds of battle stopped, she could hear the voices of people outside the door – three men, if she judged right, and a woman. The woman sounded familiar to her though. Was she getting mad already? She had always thought she was stronger than that.

"Whoever is inside, you may come out. The abominations are gone and we mean you no harm," one of the men said.

Luna hesitated, but after a few moments removed the seal. As the door opened, three men entered the room. Behind them was standing her former mentor, Wynne.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by and reading this little fan fiction. I will not start babbling how I once sat on a rock in the middle of a starless night, and this idea just hit me in the head (or perhaps it was a brick?). I truly hope you enjoyed it though!**

**Huge thanks to Adalae Amell for being my little beta tester elf!**

**Reviews are welcomed.  
><strong>

**Of course, I do not own Dragon Age. Luna is my little creature though.  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 2

"The mages seem so much cleaner than the templars here, if you judge by the current condition of their quarters, that is," a tall man with dirty blond hair said.

"Well, having seen the... tidiness of _your_ surroundings, I can only say it's not only among these templars..." another man said jokingly as they continued towards the Harrowing Chamber.

They had slowed their pace a bit to regain strength after an exhausting encounter in the Fade. Thankfully, the biggest part of the journey up had already been walked. They only hand to worry about one person, though, which made things somewhat easier. Of course, not as easy as it could have been if they had taken someone younger instead, like Morrigan. At least this old woman was admirable at mending wounds, what the younger lass always failed to do (nor did she bother to improve her skills, in fact).

"Hey! I thought we were friends, Aedan!" the blond exclaimed, even pouting a little.

"Exactly. Why else do you think I would keep trying to embarrass you?" he grinned.

"I can think of more pleasant ways to embarrass him, my dear Warden," a light blond-haired elf smirked at the other two men.

"Did he… just smirk at us? Please, don't smirk at us. That's just creepy."

"Ah don't worry, love, I won't let him take you away from me," Aedan smirked almost as devilishly as the elf, putting an expression of something between shock, disgust and embarrassment on his friend's face.

"Oh, I had no idea you swung that way, young man," the woman finally spoke, joining in to tease the poor man with the rest of the group.

"Yeeeeaaah… Forget I ever said anything to any of you. And when the darkspawn pokes you, don't come running at me and crying 'Oh Alistair, take care of that bloody piece of rotten flesh for me'!" he exclaimed sarcastically.

For a few seconds everyone was speechless, but suddenly they all burst out laughing, including Alistair himself.

Only four of them went up to sort the mess that the Circle of Magi had become. The leader of their group, a fresh Gray Warden, Aedan Cousland, was tall and well built. His whole posture constantly screamed 'I am a Nobleman'. His dark hair always seemed to be tidy, which only added to his highborn looks. He could never be seen without his trusty broadsword, which he called Flanky. Beside him walked his friend and another Gray Warden Alistair. He was only slightly taller than Aedan, which, in fact, made him quite tall. His somewhat messy dirty blond hair and slightly tanned skin made him look like any man, born and raised in a small town or a village. That is why everyone was so surprised when they learnt he had royal blood. He was quite silly, though, but always managed to brighten things up. Or make everything worse.

Behind the two men walked an elf man and an old mage. The elf was an assassin, whose life had been spared by the group, named Zevran. His light blond hair looked as a stream of sunshine, cascading into a pool of gold that his skin resembled. A black tattoo on his face made him even more memorable, yet it added some sort of charm. And he knew well how to use his charms, which was already getting annoying to the last member of the group. Her name was Wynne, a senior enchanter from the circle they were saving. She was far from young, though she looked good, for her age, that is. Her short grey hair was tied in a small ponytail, which made her look somewhat cute. In spite of all that, she still could handle battles quite well.

The party decided to be quieter after that. They could not risk drawing unnecessary or unplanned attention, especially when they were so close to the floor they needed to reach. The further they went, however, the more abominations they encountered. At first, they did not even notice as they ran straight into a group of abominations, circling around a door. It took them only a couple of minutes to dispose of the threat.

"Huh? Is that a seal?" Alistair asked upon seeing the magically entrapped door.

Wynne rushed straight to it as soon as she heard him.

"What? How can anyone even be alive here?" she asked rhetorically as she inspected the finding.

"You know, I'm hardly surprised after seeing that mage in the cabinet," Alistair said sarcastically.

"Whoever is inside, you may come out. The abominations are gone and we mean you no harm," Aedan said all of sudden.

It was silent. They were beginning to think whoever set up the seal had already gone, when it slowly disappeared. Carefully, they opened the door and entered the room. Inside there was a young mage woman, her skin as pale as the moon, shoulder length brown hair tied in a loose ponytail. She was only slightly taller than an average elven female, which was rather short for a human. It was clear she had been there for quite a while.

"Luna?" Wynne gasped. She was standing next to the girl in a matter of seconds, embracing her as a mother embraces her child.

At first the girl was in shock, but her sobs soon took over.

"Wynne... I-I thought you were dead..." Luna looked up at her former mentor. "I'm sorry! I should have gone look for you instead of coming here!" she apologized through a stream of tears.

"What are you doing here anyway? I thought mages can't enter the Templar floor?" Alistair inquired.

The girl broke the embrace with the older woman and looked into her eyes, her emotions more settled down than before.

"I had to make sure he was alright. But... I could not make it," she said mournfully.

Wynne seemed to understand what she meant and only nodded in response.

"Well, if the reunion is over, we have work to do," Aedan said, a tad coldly.

"I'm coming with you. I am one of the best mages in the circle, if you allow me to say so, thus I believe I can aid you well." The girl who was crying a moment ago was gone; now she looked as a professional soldier, ready to do as commanded.

"I can vouch for that," Wynne smiled.

The warden sighed. "All right, just don't cause any trouble," he grumbled.

* * *

><p>They proceeded further towards the top of the tower. They had hoped the leader of these things would have decided to stay somewhere lower. But had their enemies ever made anything easy for them? It always seemed as if their every foe enjoyed going as far, dark and damp as possible just to make their journeys even more dreadful. It was distressing, considering they nearly never had problems with disposing of every threat they came across. On the other hand, had the base of these mages been on a lower floor, the mage girl they had found would have most likely died.<p>

The chatter of the group died as the girl joined it. It was almost as if the new mage killed the mood, which kind of annoyed Aedan. Not only did she ruin the atmosphere, but she would most likely only cause trouble. He did not even find her appealing enough to stare at, unlike Morrigan. Ah, Morrigan. How he wished she was there instead of that little brat they had to baby-sit. Unlike this mage, Morrigan could at least take care of herself. And Maker, was she beautiful. Those unusually coloured fiendish eyes, those big alluring lips, those captivating curves…

"Hey, Aedan! Did you hear what I just say?" Alistair's voice startled his deep train of thought.

"Sorry. What is it?" he asked, a bit annoyed. He would rather be with Morrigan right now instead of solving this mess, after all.

"This door is locked," Alistair stated pointedly.

"And what do you want me to do about it?" Aedan growled, growing more frustrated.

"I dunno. Break it maybe?" Alistair frowned.

"Do it yourself," he responded with a hard tone.

"Wh-" Alistair began.

"You forgot I can pick locks, no?" Zevran interrupted, heading straight to the door. He fiddled with the lock for a while, but soon the doors unlocked. The rogue only sent a smirk at the two Gray Wardens.

As they opened the doors, the stench of rotten flesh with a mixture of lyrium and piss blew right into their face, which made them quickly turn away. As soon as they finally got somewhat used to it, they looked at what was inside. So far, that was the most horrible looking room in the tower. Pools of blood all around the room, decorated with adornments of abominations' flesh and a few horribly twisted bodies. The sight was so disgusting the group did not know where to look. Hesitantly, Aedan stepped in first, ready to strike down whatever would dare to attack them. He took a few steps forward, looking around for any threat. It was not long before he noticed a Templar imprisoned by some sort of magical barrier in a corner. A split second later Luna was rushing towards him with a terrified look on her face.

"This trick again? I know what you are. It won't work… I will stay strong..." the templar sounded worn out and skeptical of his own words.

"Cullen! Don't you recognise me?" Luna cried, desperate.

"Only too well... How far they must have delved into my thoughts..." he was beginning to break down.

"The boy is exhausted. And this cage... I've never seen anything like it. Rest easy... help is here," Wynne had an expression of pity, concern and curiosity all mixed up in one

Aedan had never seen stranger looks than than the ones this woman emanated.

"Enough visions! If anything in you is human, kill me now and stop this game," the Templar pleaded. Luna tried to move closer to comfort him, but he just as quickly backed away. "Don't touch me! Stay away!" He was slipping further and further into desperation. "Sifting through my thoughts... Tempting me with the one thing I always wanted but could never have... Using my shame against me... My ill advised infatuation with her... A mage, of all things. I am so tired of these cruel jokes... These tricks... These..."

"N-no, Cullen, I'm real! I came here to help you!" Luna seemed flustered by the sudden confession she got from her friend.

"I will not listen to anything you say. Now begone!" the man shut his eyes as tightly as he could. A few moments later he opened them. "Still here? But that has always worked before. I close my eyes, but you are still here when I open them," he asked with an obvious trace of surprise in his voice.

"It's me... It's really me, Cullen. Like I said, I came for you," Luna said softly, her eyes brimming with tears once again.

"You... You're alive? How did you survive? Why would you come here?" he asked desperately.

"I could never leave you and you know it. You're my dearest friend, Cullen. My only friend, in fact. I am only sorry I could not have come sooner for you..." She reached for him but he moved away again. "Maker, what have they done to you?"

"We have no time for this. Where are the rest of the mages?" Aedan interrupted coolly.

"They are in the Harrowing Chamber. The sounds coming out from there... Oh, Maker... You can't save them. You don't know what they've become."

"Neither do you, Cullen. Have faith in them," Luna tried to reassure her friend.

"Silence, mage!" he howled, petrifying her with fear. "It is your kind to blame for what has happened here! Only mages have that much power at their fingertips. Only mages are so susceptible to the infernal whisperings of the demons! And to think I once thought we were too hard on you." His face was full of loathing.

"His hatred of mages is so intense... the memory of his friends' deaths is still fresh in his mind," Alistair said, voice full of sincere compassion.

"You have to end it, now. Before it's too late," the weary man said looking at Aedan. "To ensure this horror is ended, to guarantee that no abominations or blood mages live, you must kill everyone up there."

"What are you saying?" Luna asked, shock evident on her face. "How... How can you even suggest that! The Cullen I know would never suggest anything like this! The Cullen I know-"

"The Cullen you know is gone, mage," the Templar retorted.

"Enough with this drama!" Aedan said, obviously irritated. "I will decide on what to do once I see the situation, Templar. Just sit tight. And you," he turned to Luna and handed her the Litany of Adralla. "You will be responsible for casting spells from this scroll. Understood?"

"...Yes," the mage nodded, looking down at the scroll she was just given.

She was sure she could do it – she could do even more with her talent. However, she was still in shock after seeing Cullen like that. She cared for him, perhaps too much. Learning he liked her as much as she liked him made her heart feel oddly warm with emotion. But only moments later it was gone; he despised her now. She did not hear what he said to Aedan, nor did she care. She felt hollow, as if she was just an empty shell, all her life and emotions drained by the loss of her friend. No, her lover.

"Let's go," she heard someone command.

She followed the rest of the group to the Harrowing Chamber after giving her beloved templar a last longing gaze.


End file.
